Battle For Malden, 1974
by Spinechicken
Summary: An Operation Flashpoint fan fiction about a battle that took place on the island of Malden, 16 years before the game. Early Version.
1. Chapter One: History Of Malden

Battle For Malden  
  
CONTENT COPYRIGHT (EXCEPTING COPYRIGHTS FROM FLASHPOINT UNIVERSE)  
SPINECHICKEN, © 2003  
  
(USES ELEMENTS FROM "OPERATION FLASHPOINT" GAME UNIVERSE)  
  
2nd April-25th November 1974  
  
1.The Build Up To Battle  
  
By Jack Kingsbridge, Military Historian and Writer.  
  
PART ONE: A BRIEF HISTORY  
  
The large island of Malden lies between Russia and Denmark in the North Sea. It is 120 sqkm big, characterised by high valleys and forests, and has long and empty winding roads, several small villages and one medium sized port as well as a decent town. It has a population of just over 10,000, and a booming tourist industry thanks to it's war memorials and brilliant climate (the Northern Beaches are among the best in Europe), and the biggest airport in the region. Currently, it is governed by the Malden Islands Coalition, revived in 1990, with the central government miles away on the bigger island of Nogova. Off its expansive coasts is a small islet ("Blake Island"), where there is an active American military base, holding a full-time garrison of 100 men from the 29th Infantry Division. This is an indication of the dark past that lies beneath Malden's beautiful countryside.  
  
In the 1400s, the French, sailing around the Danish coast, discovered two large, uninhabited islands, that they called "Les Isles de Malden" after the man who discovered them, Eric Malden. They quickly set about colonising them, filling the islands and beginning farming on the strangely fertile fields. The other island, Everon was also colonised. What the French failed to notice were two other islands, close to the Russian mainland. The Russians discovered these in the 1700s and also colonised them, being much bigger than Everon or Malden, and with more fertile land, as well as the capacity for coal mining. They were called Kolgujev and Nogova, after the Russian sailors who found them.  
  
In World War 2, the islands were invaded by the Nazis and seized from them. The local populaces began to rebel against the Nazis, fighting a fierce guerrilla war, the fiercest on Malden in its' deep valleys. When the Nazis left in 1944, the islanders called for an end to colonial rule and the setting up of a republic. In 1946, the Malden Isles Coalition was born, government offices on each islands' capital, and a large defence force shared between the three islands (the main bases on Everon and Kolgujev) called the Malden Islands Defence Force- help being supplied by the Americans in the form of equipment and training, o prevent the growth of communism that was spreading like a cancer across Europe. In spite of the threat of Russia off their shores the President of 1947, Jean-Luc Malden (descendent of Eric) stated, "peace would rule our pleasant isles"  
  
However, since World War 2, there have been two battles for Malden (and indeed, the other islands). The first, and most famous, was the American- Russian fighting that lasted for a month in 1985, codenamed "Operation Flashpoint" and was one of the most intense campaigns of recent years, with nearly 30,000 casualties.  
  
However, 16 years earlier there was another Battle for Malden. It barely reached the television screens of the world, regarded as an internal conflict (though film shot by local television stations is now being gathered together for a large history documentary) but was incredibly fierce, and the last battle where there was little reliance on modern technology.  
  
PART TWO: The Spark  
  
In 1970, the island of Kolgujev broke away from the Malden Islands coalition to form a communist state. The Malden Islands Defence Force presence on that island was overthrown and replaced by committed members of the rebels, who renamed themselves the Kolgujev Army, and a whole division from the Russian Army (as the coup had been supported by the Soviet Union) The newly elected leader of the Kolgujev Union, Spetzy Walckowcz, declared that "The Isles Of Malden would soon be sleeping under a red star"  
  
The MIDF increased it's request for arms and support from the US, and training teams and advisers were sent to Everon and Nogova along with thousands of weapons and vehicles. The Americans wasted no time in pulling out their force on the islet off Malden (now called "Blake Island", after Colonel Peter Blake, who commanded "Operation Flashpoint" in the 80s), leaving only their advisers and weapons behind. The Advisers left in mid- March, letting the "Maldenese deal with their own affairs"  
  
The stage was set for a battle. Both sides knew it was inevitable, the only question was when.  
  
PART THREE: The Battle Begins  
  
The "when" was 1st April 1974, when the Kolgujevians landed on the Northern Beaches. At 2300 hours two regiments of parachutists landed at the Malden airfield and quickly seized it, allowing the tank regiments to be flown in. The rest of the forces landed on the Northern beaches, and rolled through the weak opposition. The MIDF was caught unaware by this strike, and by the time the armoured support from Everon was on its way, the Kolgujev army had taken La Trinite, capital of Malden. Fighting a rearguard action, the MIDF forces on Malden pulled back onto Everon, and the island was seized on April 15th.  
  
No time was wasted in planning for a quick invasion of the island. General David Bradley of the US Army stayed as an adviser to the MIDF's Supreme Commander, General Albert Roetin. The plan to recapture the island was an audacious one, landing nearly 2000 men on the Southern beaches and capturing several towns in a matter of hours, with the use of paratroops. It took Bradley and Roetin only a few days to formulate the plan, but longer to assemble trained troops. The majority that comprised the MIDF were inexperienced privates, and certainly were not ready for the horrors that lay ahead. Regardless, Bradley and Roetin set the date for invasion on the morning of the 20th May.  
  
Prior to this, at 1900 hours on the 19th May, 200 men from the 2nd Parachute Battalion were dropped over the towns of Chapoi and Sainte Marie. Chapoi was capably taken by the 501st Regt of the paratroops, who held it for four hours against a stream of KGA counter attacks. However, the troops intended for Sainte Marie missed it, as their UH60 drop chopper was hit by ground fire, and crashed just outside Arudy, in the centre of Malden. Dazed and lost in the morning fog, the survivors stumbled toward the town and managed to surprise the small garrison there. However, within an hour the Russians had sent a tank battalion into the town and killed every single paratrooper, barely minutes before a rescue chopper arrived.  
  
Despite these setbacks, the 4th MIDF infantry hit the beaches at La Riviere, Chapoi and Le Port at 0500 and took the towns with ease. The KGA/Russian forces were reinforcing the centre and north of the island, expecting an assault from the east or west, not from the South. The 4th held the towns and soon thousands of reinforcements poured into the temporary base camps. Tanks from the 12th Mechanized Division pushed the Allied frontline to just past Sainte Mairie (it later turned out the town had been abandoned for a week, so the paratroopers would have been safe had they landed there) and the Allies held about 100 km inland, waiting for the next command.  
  
By 25th of November, the MIDF soldiers had entered Lolisse, the northernmost village of Malden, and watched the enemy ships return to Kolgujev from the Northern beach. There was still much to be done however, nearly 10,000 bodies to be buried, and much rebuilding work to be done. Less than 5 years later, the fragile Malden islands peace frazzled away as the newly elected President Roetin was overthrown, and the islands of Nogova, Everon and Malden became separate entities. However, the Americans kept (and still keep) a garrison on the small island just off Malden, in case of another invasion, which is exactly what they got in 1985.  
  
-J. Kingsbridge  
  
(SOURCES: "Malden: The Forgotten War" by Viktor Troska, 1977; "My Life As A Soldier" Captain Yuri Speltyn, ex-Russian Infantry, 2001; "Malden Isles: A History Of Pain" David Armstrong 1992) 


	2. Chapter Two Part One: The Battle Of Ridg...

CONTENT COPYRIGHT (EXCEPTING ELEMENTS FROM FLASHPOINT UNIVERSE) SPINECHICKEN, 2003 ©  
  
2. Key Incidents In The Battle.  
  
NUMBER ONE:  
  
24th May 1974, The Battle Of Ridge 233  
  
By Col. M. Sully , Royal Army Military Historian, Sandhurst Academy  
  
FRIENDLY UNITS: 209th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, 8th MIDF Infantry Division  
  
OPPOSING UNITS: 443rd Kolgujev Forest Guards Regiment, Kolgujev Army and 109th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armoured Division, Russian Army.  
  
The MIDF forces swept onto the Southern beaches with relative ease on the 20th May; with fairly low casualties considering the size of the opposing force. The Allied front now stretched from La Riviere in the West, to the outskirts of Houdan in the east.  
  
General Roetin, SCMIDF, was putting together an audacious plan to sweep up the western side of the island, capturing the radio station at Vigny and the garrison town of Goisse, and attacking the capital of La Trinite from the west flank. However, General Bradley wanted to implement another plan, to storm up to Vigny AND La Trinite with armed jeeps and tanks and seize the towns as the enemy struggled to organize itself in the north, then any remaining enemy behind would be cut off and be easy pickings. Most of the MIDF command agreed, but Roetin didn't "I will not be ordered around by this American bulldog" were his words. Despite the total refutement of his plan, he went ahead with it anyway.  
  
Before Roetin could launch his assaults on Vigny and Goisse, the Western headland (nicknamed the "Malden Finger" due to it's shape) needed to be secured. It was a massive, 1000km long stretch of high rock, filled with high ridges and forests, and contained a large portion of the Southern Beach forces of the KGA that were waiting to counterattack. General Bradley wanted to carpet bomb the entire area, levelling all the tanks and buildings so that the infantry would be able to take it with ease, but Roetin, distrustful of air support, decided on a frontal assault.  
  
The job fell to Colonel August Lentille, commander of the MIDF's 8th Infantry Division, who was ensconced in his headquarters of La Riviere. His men had taken the small seaside town on 21st May with minimal casualties. Colonel Lentille had little experience of commanding a frontal assault, but the job was given to him anyway.  
  
On 28th May, Lentille positioned the 209th Mechanized Infantry Regiment as far forward as it could go, on the bottom of Ridge 233. Rising high into the air, the ridge was a forward post into the headland, with a radar station on its peak, as well as a large barracks. Capturing it would mean the MIDF would have a good position to continue, but it would need to be a swift assault. Roetin gave the go-ahead and Lentille sent the regiment straight up the ridge.  
  
At first it seemed that the action would be a quick victory for the 8th, as they easily neutralized the two BMP's of the 443rd forest guards (effectively a reserve unit, poorly trained and frightened) that were stationed on the ridge. Taking only light casualties, the unit got rid of the remaining 443rd troops and carried on.  
  
Then all hell broke lose. Machine gun posts in the trees began cutting the men down, and the T80 tanks of the 171st Mechanized Dragoon opened fire, quickly knocking out the aged M60 tanks of the 209th that were having difficulty on the muddy ridge. The garrison at the barracks was large, and had already been alerted to the 209th presence, quickly joining the fray. An hour into the battle, and three quarters of the 209th was gone. Its' tanks lay smouldering on the ridge, and it was covered in bodies. Radio Operator Jan Vincant, who was hiding from the Russians after the battle, in a former gun position, described the scene:  
  
"I was lying in the shell hole next to the rotting corpse of a Kolgujevian. I was virtually out of ammo and had a bullet wound in my leg so I couldn't stand properly. I just lay there and looked out over the ridge. The scene was one of Dante-esque proportions. The air was thick with gunsmoke and the smoke rising from the wrecked armour. Bodies littered the ridgeside, Maldenese and Kolgujevian. Most had been killed by the bullets from the MG positions but some lay against each other, where they had been so close the bullets had gone right through them and you could see the grass poking out of the bullet holes. The smell of death was everywhere, and so nauseating, that I threw up several times. Lots of the trees had gone, and the ridge was littered with shell holes and bullet casings. So many dead, it was hard to find the living. I tell you, in that conflict I had fought in many nasty places, but this was the closest I had seen to hell itself."  
  
And living soldiers was one thing the 209th had little of. Of the 100 strong force sent up the ridge initially only 20 remained. A small platoon that had been sent up from La Riviere as the 209th charged past the 443rd, had taken up position on the eastern flank of the ridge and lay in wait for the orders to rescue any survivors on the ridge. Corporal Thomas Regiton described what happened:  
  
"We held our position overlooking the battle scene. It was awful, there were a lot of men moaning who hadn't died but were beyond repair. There were also sporadic shouts from the odd soldier who was alive but pinned down. We wanted to rescue them, but the trouble was, the KGA had now positioned snipers in the MG posts and we couldn't go out onto the open ridge. To top all that, command continued giving crazy orders. Our Captain wanted to piece together the survivors and fall back, but we were continually told that we must reinforce the positions on the ridge and make a full assault with remaining armour, The only problem was there wasn't any. So we just sat there and clutched our weapons, huddled against each other in the driving rain, and waited for reinforcements"  
  
But they never came. Lentille, assuming the 209th had been destroyed completely, forgot about his troops and began prepping the 12th Infantry Regiment for an assault on the ridge. After 4 hours, and in darkness, Captain Jean Davidrite (mentioned in the quote) crawled across the muddy ridge in pitch black, finding survivors. He found 14 able bodied men, and gathered ammunition. Then, creeping around the Russians east flank, he launched a surprise assault on the troops, quickly knocking out two of the seven remaining T80s. In the darkness neither side could see what was really going on, so Davidrites' men moved slowly in the treeline as a group, to avoid friendly fire. The other five tanks however remained a problem, their machine guns raking the trees with fire. Out of rockets, Davidrite made the brave decision of racing across the open fields to pick up some rocket launchers from the Russian corpses. Shot three times, he managed to bring three RPGs and ammo over to his beleaguered troops before collapsing from the pain. He died minutes later.  
  
With the fresh rockets, Davidrites' men easily picked off the tanks. Regiton continues: "They couldn't see us, we just unloaded rocket after rocket into them, picking off the crew if they got out or just watching the tanks erupt in flames. After we took out the last one we held our position, watching carefully for any survivors"  
  
The troops waited another 5 hours until daybreak, when they saw the carnage before them. In less than 40 minutes, they had knocked out seven tanks and killed 30 men. Seizing the radio hut, Regiton radioed Lentille and informed him the ridge was taken. His unit was relieved by the 12th Infantry Division, who set about reinforcing the ridgeside for a further push into the headland.  
  
Regiton provides a fitting description of the end of the battle. "'You guys look like heroes' said one of the 12th guys as they arrived in their jeeps on the ridge. I was covered in muck from my head to my boots, with a cigarette in my mouth and holding my rifle in one hand. So yeah, we all looked like heroes, but we didn't feel like them. We felt empty and sick. We hadn't eaten or drunk for hours, our ears were still ringing from the gunfire and explosions. And we had lost all our friends, our dearest friends in this battle.  
  
My unit [the 209th] went up that ridge with 8 tanks and over 100 men. We came down with no tanks and 15 men. There were no wounded men to carry down, they had all expired in the night, bleeding to death in the mud or simply giving up all hope and taking their own lives. It was one of the worst battles in Maldenese history, perhaps even military history. And all for 233 meters of mud and stone. I prayed that it was over, but it wasn't"  
  
Regiton was right, it took the 12th another 10 days to take the headland, at the cost of 700 more men. In the bunkers, ridges, forests and tank riddled plains of the rocky "Finger" peninsula, the best kind of heroism emerged, under the worst kind of fighting.  
  
-M.Sulley  
  
(SOURCES: "That Bloody Ridge"- T. Regiton 1989; "A History of the Finger"- Albert Louis, 2002. Thanks also to Pvt. J. Vincent, Louise Davidrite and the men of the 209th Memorial Trust on Malden.) 


End file.
